Most Metal Gear Solid (MGS) fans have been eagerly awaiting the arrival of the new spin-off from the series, originally announced as “Metal Gear Solid: Rising” at the 2009 E3 convention but re-announced at the 2012 E3 convention as “Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance”  It promises to be a much more action-oriented cousin of the classic franchise. 

The story takes place 4 years after the events in “Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of The Patriot,” in a time where cyborg technology runs rampant, being used in war as well as to terrorize by the organization Desperado Enforcement LLC.

Yuji Korekado, the Creative Producer at Kojima studios, said in an interview at E3 2012 Convention:

“Within the Metal Gear series, Raiden has been this really cool character with incredible action scenes, so we heard this universal cry from our fans that they wanted the opportunity to actually be able to control Raiden. We answered that call by creating Metal Gear Rising, which will allow users to control Raiden and get to really enjoy those amazing action scenes as a player.”

The plot hints at returning him to his colder persona, “Jack The Ripper,” while further explaining his past as a child soldier and exploring the extent of his human weaknesses. The game will take place in various locations around the world, some in the process of reconstruction from their recent war-ridden past.

In this installment, the man who puts Raiden on a trail of vengeance is Samuel Rodrigues, an operative from the Desperados whose cyborg body is similar to Raiden’s. Since Samuel destroys his body during the assassination of one of Raiden’s protectees while he was working his “low-risk security job” he becomes outfitted with a new and improved body that allows him to perform spectacular feats.

According to the trailers, it seems we have quite a few interesting upgrades that will heighten the experience considerably, such as a stronger blade mode (discussed later), and what looks like a bladed pole he wields as ferociously as his sword.

It is implied at the end of the demo that there will be a sense of cognitive dissonance thanks to his cyborg state, possibly a struggle to maintain human while Raiden takes the life of cyborgs he himself does not consider human. It will be interesting to see how that element plays into the story.

Gameplay

The gameplay is smooth, action packed and heartwarmingly ferocious. It is much more action oriented than the main MGS titles, so if you’ve only played the stealth based games you might be onboard for a sweet surprise when you pick up this game. The cyborg body allows Raiden to perform superhuman actions, such as moving through the environment very quickly with the appropriately named Ninja run. The game features an Augmented Reality interface similar to the Solid Eye from MGS4 that allows you to spot enemies and sliceable structures in the environment from a considerable distance. The greatest feature is Blade Mode: player enters a slow motion state in which he can carefully aim with the analog sticks to cut through an enemy or simply bash X and Y to slice and dice the enemy until satisfied.

The game highly encourages you to carefully aim at the red square that appears at the center of an enemy, which highlights a bundle of nervous fibers loaded with energy the player can use to recover his blade’s energy and health (really useful when surrounded by more than 4 enemies). In some cases the enemy will be a gecko (a large, bipedal unmanned tank), and presumably larger enemies once the game is released. Enemies may be weakened enough for a Blade mode finisher, prompted by a light blue frame on the screen. It is very action packed, aesthetically pleasing and punishingly difficult the first time you play it, but you quickly master the learning curve.

Difficulty wise, in normal mode it is easy enough for new-comers to enjoy the game yet difficult enough for experienced gamers to feel challenged and rewarded upon completing a battle. The voice acting is mostly solid, it only falters in some Codec calls, but this is not a big issue. In the developer’s defense, the game is originally Japanese, so some lip-syncing issues are expected.

The only real issue I had with the demo was that it is difficult to stay focused on your target or Raiden without using the lock-on feature since so much is going on in the screen. Also, the camera doesn’t necessarily move with Raiden’s back. I found myself looking at his face more times than I’d like, which can be disorienting when getting shot and kicked by geckos and cyborgs.

Hopefully, Platinum Studios takes that into consideration. However, since it does add to the fast-paced fighting system by forcing you to be aware of your environment, they may not. I also hope that at some point we can use the skin from MGS4 during the entirety of the game; you can see it in some trailers but its probably only in the first mission when protecting the major.

The demo introduces an upgrade concept not unlike the weapon sales and customization menu in MGS4. It uses BP (Battle Points) as currency, but this time you’re going to be upgrading Raiden’s suit and blade instead of weapons.

Aside from straying from the normal stealth-based gameplay common in a MGS game, the menus and the in-game hud are very similar to previous MGS, but simpler, cleaner and more intuitive. It is really hard to compare this title with previous ones due to its core difference, but it is safe to say that Platinum Studios and Kojima Studios have created a solid spin-off that shows a possibility to branch out into its own franchise while maintaining the Metal Gear atmosphere.

Even with those very small issues, “Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance” looks like a solid, fun and enjoyable game regardless of whether you’re a returning fan or a newcomer. The game will be available on February 19, 2013 and you can try it out for free at the Xbox Live Marketplace and PSN stores.

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Konami Digital Entertainment GmbH has announced it has extended its exclusive agreement with UEFA for the use of the UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League competitions in its Pro Evolution Soccer series.

The publisher has also bolstered various licences for use within its forthcoming PES 2013 title, with the Spanish league licensed in its entirety, while all the club’s from Italy’s highest league are also included. KONAMI has also sourced individual agreements with Manchester United, Bayern Munich, FC Porto, AEK Athens, Galatasaray Istanbul, Shahktar Donetsk, FC Kopenhagen, Zenit St Petersburg, CSKA Moscow, RSC Anderlecht, Dinamo Kyiv and Dinamo Zagreb among many others. Overall, 150 licensed teams are now available, with 17 more licensed national squads added, including the likes of England, Italy, Germany and France. Details on additional licences will follow.

“The UEFA Champions League is the most prestigious club competition in football, and we are delighted to have extended our relationship with UEFA to continue to feature it exclusively in PES 2013 and beyond,” commented Shinji Hirano, President for Konami Digital Entertainment GmbH. “With the emphasis in the new game focusing on control, freedom of play and the individual brilliance of the world’s best players, it is only fitting that PES 2013 features the one competition where their talents are truly showcased.”

“The UCL Video game is another extension of the UCL brand and a great way for UEFA to connect with young fans around the world”, added Guy-Laurent Epstein , Marketing Director of UEFA Events S.A. “PES is known for its quality and realism and the presentation of the competition within the PES series is incredible. It fits very well with the brand positioning of the UEFA Champions League. We are delighted to continue our relationship with Konami and to further promote the UCL platform.”

KONAMI is also offering a pre-order incentive in the form of a limited edition UEFA Champions League steel book edition. This specially-packaged version will be exclusively available via Blockbuster in the UK, and celebrates KONAMI’s exclusive agreement to feature the UEFA Champions League within the Pro Evolution Soccer series, and a secondary bonus includes a DLC code to unlock Historic UEFA Champions League Match Balls as seen in the real-life competition. The UK will also offer a second, Manchester United-themed steelbook edition for pre-orders, boasting the club’s livery on its cover and which is exclusive to GAME Stores.

PES 2013 will be released on PlayStation3, Xbox 360 and Windows PC end September, with versions for PlayStation2, PSP (PlayStationPortable), Wii and Nintendo 3DS to follow.

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Those fearing vampires will now forever be associated with the awful “Twilight” brand name are in for a treat. Konami announced at E3 they are working on two new Castlevania games: Mirror of Fate and Lords of Shadow 2. Both are set after the events of Castlevania: Lords of Shadows, released in 2010 on the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 consoles. Taking place in 11^th century medieval Europe with a plot concerned with the beginning of the Belmont/Dracula feud, Lords of Shadow served as a reboot to the series featuring the new character Gabriel Belmont.

Originally revealed by Nintendo Power a few days before E3, Mirror of Fate is being developed for the 3DS by MercurySteam, the studio that made Lords of Shadow. Set 25 years after Lords of Shadow, the plot follows Trevor Belmont as he tries to discover what happened to his father, Gabriel Belmont. Trevor, however, is far from being the only playable character. Simon Belmont, Alucard and one other yet to be revealed character will all be controllable, with the player switching between characters in predetermined areas in the game.

Interestingly, many of these characters have already appeared in the franchise, although under different circumstances. Trevor Belmont was the main character of Castlevania III: Dracula’s Curse on the Nintendo Entertainment System and also featured in Castlevania: Curse of Darkness on the Playstation 2 and Xbox, both of which were set in the late 15^th century. Simon Belmont is probably the most famous of all Belmonts, having been in several Castlevania games, including the first two, and was born in 1667. Alucard, the son of Dracula, has also been playable in several games, with his most noteworthy appearances being in Castlevania III: Dracula’s Curse alongside Simon, and Castlevania: Symphony of the Night.

It is unclear whether these characters in Mirror of Fate are meant to represent the characters listed above in an alternate universe, or are simply completely different people. Perhaps Konami is trying to ease fans into this reboot by including familiar characters.

Also uncertain is the style of the game: although it is known the game will be set in 2D, it is not known if it will feature different levels, as was the case of Lords of Shadow, or just have one big playing area, with certain areas requiring special abilities for access. Previous games that have fallen into the latter category have been nicknamed “Metroidvania” for their gameplay reminiscent of Metroid. Since Symphony of the Night, all major 2D Castlevania games have been this way.  However, with the reboot and a different story may come a different style of gameplay.

Mirror of Fate is meant as a prequel to Lords of Shadow 2, setting up the events for its console counterpart, and is due for release this fall.

Although details are scarce about Lords of Shadow 2, some elements of the plot were revealed. The game will star Gabriel Belmont, now a vampire, as he deals with a new threat in addition to his former family hunting him down. The debut trailer showed Alucard, although at this time it is unknown whether or not he will be a playable character.

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Following the Nintendo Press Conference on Tuesday, Nintendo offered a web follow up on Wednesday with the Nintendo All-Access 3DS Software Showcase. The 3DS Software Showcase offered some new, and not so new, insight to up and coming games for the 3DS, as well as some features for the Nintendo eStore. Though the showcase was insightful and entertaining, it still felt like Nintendo was holding back some details and they did not produce anything to ‘wow’ anyone. With that out of the way, let us take a look at the hits and misses of Nintendo’s All-Access 3DS Software Showcase.

Hosting the showcase was Nintendo of America’s Executive Vice President in charge of Sales and Marketing, Scott Moffitt. Moffitt opens the night by stating that the “best portable gaming is found on the 3DS console” and goes on to introduce future games to come by starting off with Konami’s Castlevania Lords of Shadow: Mirror of Fate.

The latest installment of the Castlevania series, Lords of Shadow: Mirror of Fate is part of the reboot of the Castlevania series. Features introduced for the game were the revival of whip swinging, secondary weapons such as the boomerang, map navigation via the touch screen, and four playable characters which currently include Trevor and Alucard. The gameplay really gives the game a retro feel going back to the original game series along with blending this style with the later games found on the DS. The game was announced to be released in the Fall of 2012.

Warren Spector and Peter Ong introduced Epic Mickey Power of Illusion. The game is its own story with no connection to the previous Epic Mickey title, but is in fact based off the classic Disney game Castle of Illusion (remarked as the best Mickey game to date). The game introduces a team up between Mickey and Oswald along with the ability to paint in object and the ability to erase enemies via the touch pad. The game is scheduled to be released November 16th of this year.

Nate Bihldorff discussed Paper Mario Sticker Star. Like Luigi’s Mansion, much of what was described about the game was mentioned in Nintendo’s previous Press Conference, with an addition of a few new examples. The new Paper Mario game heavily revolves around the new sticker system. Stickers are Mario’s means of attack, from basic attacks to item attacks, they are all sticker based. The RPG element has also been updated, which does not involve attacking enemies to earn XP. This time Mario must earn his health boost and attack boost by completing tasks or by finding hidden passages. The game is scheduled to be released during the holiday season.

Nate also discussed information on the New Super Mario Bros 2. The new Mario Bros game for the 3DS, as detailed in Nintendo’s Press Conference, is heavily coin based. Along with the usual game mode, a special counter has been added which keeps track of Mario’s coin count. This coin counter will play a heavy role in the new challenge mode that has been introduced, Coin Rush.

Coin Rush is a speed run mode with a twist, the twist being that the player must collect as much coins as he can while trying to make record time to add to their coin count. The game also introduces a co-op mode, in which the player and a friend can team up to beat the story. The last announcement is the return of the Tanooki suit and the ability to fly. New Super Mario Bros 2 is scheduled to be released August 19th in store and as a download.

The showcase also announced that the new Pokemon games Black and White 2 will be released on the 3DS. The games will also be able to function with Pokemon Dream Radar and Pokedex 3D Pro (both are exclusive releases through the Nintendo eStore). The release dates for the games have not yet been released.

Besides other third party games, again previously announced, the Showcase went into some new details about what’s new with the Nintendo eStore. The Nintendo eStore is looking to bridge the gap between stores and web purchases, by further expanding their catalog of games available for download and giving people the option of purchasing the game in a store or the option of purchasing a download card.

Overall, it was nice to see some more details about some of the hot games coming out for the 3DS, but a lot of it felt rehashed from the first press conference, with an exception of a few new details for Paper Mario and New Super Mario Bros 2. One game that Nintendo continued to leave out was Animal Crossing for the 3DS, a popular series that has had its share of success was yet again left out of Nintendo’s E3 showcase. In the end, the 3DS showcase was better than the Nintendo Press Conference, but still lacked a lot of game details and surprises that Nintendo really need at E3 this year.

Image Courtesey of  Sklathill

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